#also how fun is the sirensong sea

[lilas]

landed in kugane 🌅

[the-rogue-mockingjay]

Rian fashion timeline pt1

what can i say, i love my son!!!!!

He wears the hyur starting gloves + boots like 90% of the time so it was very fun to build outfits around these mostly unchanging elements fdkljghkjdfgh

Some trivia under the cut :>

In ARR he tended to wear looser clothing, things like those low-level wizard robes, out of a desire to not be perceived; he was a loner who preferred to blend in and go unnoticed (for the most part, he still is)

The blue byregotia choker is a good luck charm his little sister, Honora, gave him

All the beautiful earrings in this game, and he only wears the lvl29 lapis lazuli earrings, or the House Fortemps earrings fglkjhdfgjhfdj (there's a story behind the lapis earrings but I don't know it yet)

After the Vault, he quits SCH and WHM for a long time because the shame and frustration of mastering those skills specifically to prevent such things from happening only to fail to save his best friend was too much to cope with. So he switched almost exclusively to PLD

The sword he has from the end of HW on is Haurchefant's- Artoirel gave it to him, and he later gives it to Ysera when she takes up paladin (what happens to it after that I'm not sure, but it's kept as a keepsake regardless)

During the fight with Sophia, he pulled a very reckless heroic stunt that he thought would kill him. It didn't, but it damaged his Halonic shield badly enough that it was no longer usable, and his injuries made him miss the fight with Zurvan. His armor was also trashed

The armor he wore after that was a bit lighter, for ease of switching between PLD and SMN- because at that time, I don't think anyone had figured out how to switch classes and gear sets mid-battle yet the way Meteor does in the SHB trailer (and also he lost main tank privileges due to the Sophia incident)

His new shield was made of Shiva's ice, in memory of Ysayle

He did not join O'ravi and the others on the recon mission, so he was in Rhalgr's Reach when Zenos attacked, and Zenos almost killed him (mainly because he was wildly unprepared to fight someone as strong as Zenos). He still joined the journey east, but his friends made him sit out the Sirensong Sea dungeon and for a while, they only let him join fights as SMN. Less risk of his recklessness biting him in the ass that way

He did not enjoy returning to Kugane. His family moved there from Radz-at-Han when he was 9 and left for Eorzea when he was 17, so the place is just kinda. Bad memories. He hated the Ruby Sea more tho because that's where he and his dad were sailing when his dad was killed.

He picked up samurai and learned a lot of it from Hien and Gosetsu so he would have something to focus on. Can't fall into the endless spiral of despair if you're too busy learning how to fight with a katana!

[autumnslance]

Stormblood got me into the game more than Heavensward ever could.

Partly it was the timing; I was still in WoW RP and enjoying that game during HW, so FF14 was a side game for me. But as my RP group dispersed and fell off the RP tracks, as I burned out on the game after 13 years, the trailers and info for StB came out.

And with this expansion came amazingly good mechanical, quality of life improvements and major changes. We learned to swim! Bard went from being a turret caster to highly mobile and got its own LB3. We lost TP. Sprint changed to its current iteration. Removed the need to have 2 classes to get a job and changed role actions to the current iteration. Boosted exp gain in ARR and HW. And so on and so forth. I was able to much more easily get through the final bits of 2.0 (still had to have my FC take me through the MSQ dungeons; this was still before the mandatory cutscenes, and long before the revamp) and bust through HW to get to StB. 4.0 is where I caught up to the story for the first time.

I do think the story split could have been handled better. There's so much less time in Ala Mhigo; we're there at level 60, Sirensong Sea is level 61, then we're in the East until we return after Doma Castle which is the level 67 dungeon; it's impossible to be any less than level 68 by the time WoL returns to Gyr Abania. That's 3 levels and 1 patch in Ala Mhigo, compared to 6 levels and 2 patches in the East. They do use Ala Mhigo as the staging ground preparing to go into Shadowbringers...but the story for that expac is over with 4.3.

Not to mention how much Hingan and Doman furnishing and glamour we've gotten, compared to Ala Mhigan; we didn't even get much for the Ananta quests, and their furnishings in that chain of blending cultures are extremely distinct!

Some folks like the Gyr Abania story more, some folks like the Eastern more; that's a matter of preference. I think they're both serviceable. Neither without their flaws, but those flaws often aren't as egregious as some claim. The game already does a Generic Pan-European setting that's so common in fantasy most don't even notice it, so an Asian company doing a Pan-Asian setting doesn't bug me as much as it could; there's nuances and issues both to how the Steppe story plays out. I don't think Hien had any intention of forcing the Xalea to do anything, knowing he couldn't; winning was to help the Mol, and trying to win over the others with 'if you want to fight a common enemy...' was his best if not well thought out desperate plan regardless of how confident he acts while proclaiming it; like Lyse, he's meant to be young and inexperienced and didn't have the training his father should have given him in leadership, and needs the Scions' aid in realizing his goals and how to best manage them, and he stumbles a lot despite the airs of nobleman samurai, in contrast to Lyse.

I still think Zenos was mishandled. He should have been introduced and set up in the HW patches, even just mentions long beforehand (which they learned with Emet-Selch and Fandaniel; Dawntrail's set up to be a new story). For a character set up to be such a foil important to the WoL, he comes out of nowhere...and sleepwalks through the plot, unless he's bullying minions or fighting WoL. It was a Zenos fan who pointed out you can remove Zenos from the story, focus it on Fordola and Yotsuyu as antagonists (as they drive it anyway, as foils to Lyse and Hien), and nothing changes. If anything, his messing with Shinryu maybe made that primal less of a threat as he had to control and use it. Also the unwinnable fights were not fun nor done well, IMO. "Lose correctly for no real reason" is never a good time. They've handled such things better before and since. We're told a lot about Zenos's capabilities as a leader, his intellect and skill...but see none of it. We mostly win back Doma and Ala Mhigo because Zenos doesn't care; those wouldn't be victories otherwise; it says a lot about his character, yes, but also undercuts the victories themselves, narratively (the in-universe historians will have a great time at least). He gets to live up to his characterization in the build up of the patches, ShB, and finally in Endwalker.

The patches' amnesia courtesan story is clumsily handled; Jifuya (Yotsuyu's pimp) is another who should have been introduced as an ally in the 4.0 MSQ to make the redemption narrative actually work; Hien's written into a corner with that part of the story. It's nearly there, and leads to an inevitable tragedy as outside forces refuse to allow Tsuyu peace.

The trials are all great, story and mechanics-wise. I love the Tsukuyomi fight; it's fun, it's got meaty story elements around and inside it, it's beautiful all around (stage, mechanics, the boss), the music is great. It doesn't quite have the narrative weight and satisfaction of Final Steps of Faith, though; almost, but the missteps leading to it hamstring a bit.

And too much of a good thing in how many fake out/return from deaths there were. Mind, I'm not counting Y'shtola and Alisaie's injuries; those happen and are to be expected in a war story, even as serious as they were. But Gosetsu, Yotsuyu, Zenos, Gaius's return, and what we learn of Solus even...it's a little much in too short a window, gang. Even expecting Gosetsu and Yotsuyu from immediately post-Doma, given Soroban pointedly couldn't find the bodies.

For someone who enjoys Stormblood and clicked "Yes" above, I've said a lot about where it went wrong. But! This is where sidequests actually get interesting and add to the lore and characters; particularly the series impacting MSQ with the origins of Black Rose. They didn't make the HW mistake of overstuffing with antagonists or plotlines; the plot beats themselves were better balanced, while also taking a lot more risks. Not all the risks worked out, maybe, but the devs were experimenting and pushing more, and had more freedom in time, budget, and technology to make those attempts. There's more women and most are better handled, even with the Yotsuyu issues. That it's all to mixed reception is fine; not all story elements work for everyone, and enough people loved StB to really push the number of subscriptions and lead into the hype for Shadowbringers.

Like the other expacs, the story as one plays it is, overall, fast-paced, engaging, and immersive; it's afterwards, or on replay, where it's easier to look back and go "OK, wait..." about various elements.

Also, while Lyse's intro and the shift from Yda was a little weird and clutzy, overall she's a good POV character for the expansion, grows solidly, and avoids the mistakes of her Eastern counterpart, thanks to her time as a Scion. She's an Ala Mhigan raised in diaspora, struggling to find her place and understand her own homeland even as she takes up the fight. She also doesn't take credit despite the memes, thanking WoL and her friends every step, and immediately helps set up a council of leaders and defers to Raubahn's experience and skill. She starts uncertain, and grows in confidence and with realistic expectations of herself, which is more than many can say.

Fordola actually gets a shown and decently paced redemption storyline, unlike other former antagonists who mostly just suffer villain decay or swap sides without real seen-in-story issue (looking at you, Nero, delightful as you are). Fordola's growth begins in StB's patches and continues in short stories and questlines through Endwalker, remaining compelling and complicated.

We see more from our side Scions; Arenvald especially has been there since early ARR, one of the first we can meet in the Waking Sands, and one of the few survivors of that era. J'moldva, in small cameos only since 1.0, returns as one of Arenvald's team, still to the side but at least present alongside V'mah.

The Four Lords is a fun trial series; we're not there to kill threats, but to help the Auspices deal with their grief and uncertainty, and to protect their home, with some light hearted adventure in between with historical and literary references dashed in. Omega's a fantastic raid, and sets up the current model of trial arenas rather than running through fighting a couple trash mobs as in Coils or Alex; the music rocks, the story is solid with the focus on Cid's mindset in the face of ultimate technology, and Alpha's growth (the run across the stars is still amazing), not to mention the previous FF game callbacks. Ivalice is long and dense, and many folks struggle with it, but it is a love letter to a beloved world and characters, and a solid retelling of their story that's made to fit into FF14, adapting and adapted well (as Crystal Tower was). It leads into Bozja and getting the Viera as player characters in the next expansion. Hildibrand's in fine form (with the exception of pointing out Nashu's stalker as a joke trope), giving us a trial again, a lady I wish we saw more of, and a wild storyline that let the team push animation and cinematography testing, as per usual.

With the mechanics cleanup and QoL improvements, excellent endgame content, and an honestly solid plot and characters (with a lot of nice intentional parallels in said characters and their arcs), Stormblood was a good followup to Heavensward, and better handled in the overall, even with the new and different fumbles made. The devs were hitting their stride, learning to manage their expectations and desires, finding out what worked, and gaining the ability to do more. The story split also heralded the change of Oda's position as lead writer and the baton was passed to the respected and beloved Ishikawa, whose content is generally popular and considered solid, even if not always hitting with everyone. The StB patches take the time to better set up and lead into the next expansion, creating a good mix of mystery and tension, building the hype to see the WoL into the First.

Explanation and reiteration, my dear Nashu! The other blue bird of despair site has been humbugging upon Dawntrail. Comparing it to Stormblood under, from what I gather to be, negative implications. Which lead me to hijack this whiplash response to the yet to be released new expansion. And see how everyone feels about each chunk of the story. Firstly, there was A Realm Reborn. Which...the general consensus is, its enjoyable and important its basically the foundation laid upon the ground to build Heavensward, Stormblood, and much more upon. Without it, we would be nothing but with it we are everything.

Then I asked about Heavensward which seems, overwhelming positive but not without a few addendums hither and tither.

But now, we reach Stormblood. An expansion that chose to split its focus between the freeing of both Ala Mhigo AND Doma from the Garlean Empire. Introducing the home lands of the Au Ra who had been around since Heavensward at that point in the form of the underwater city of Sui-no-Sato for the Raen and the Azim Steppe for the Xaela Tribes. As well as pulling the rug up from under us with the change of Yda suddenly to Lyse.

Stormblood! The expansion which spent its Post-MSQ bouncing between both and then seeking out brand new areas on each country. Some beneath the Ala Mhigan Castle in the form of Skalla. Others far, far, far out into the Burn west of Yanxia. Still further, we explored Ivalice, Dalmasca, and other provinces similarly seeking freedom from Garlean rule at the time. Both suddenly taking a sharp left with "The Call" as friends drop comatose before our eyes and we set the stage for Shadowbringers.

It introduced Zenos, under water diving, and a variety of elements and stylings to the MSQ. But what did you think of it? Either at the time before any aether current changes, QoL shifts, or the dungeons being able to be run with trusts or as it is today?

[faelune-home]

Day 12 - Favourite Dungeon

I sincerely can’t pick one favourite, there’s so many that I like :’D Either for the music, the aesthetic, story meaning or placement. I picked these 4 here for posting on twitter, and just so I wasn’t scrambling to find more pics in my folder, I kept the same 4 for here as well.

There is so many tho that I like, but since I have more characters on tumblr vs twitter, I can ramble about a small few (so not all), and why I like them;

Pharos Sirius and Lost City of Amdapor both for general atmosphere and appearance and the lovely music ;-; Xelphatol is a big pick for the music and the rush of climbing the mountain, plus that debut for Revenge Twofold, it hit just right~ Likewise, Sirensong Sea for similar reasons (not quite music, but I like it more for being fitting), but just the overall appearance, so creepy and eerie as we traverse this ghostship graveyard, and then bonus points for being the first place to hear Triumph, which I love so much as a dungeon boss theme Swallow’s Compass has awesome music and theming and such fun fights, but actually running through the dungeon is exciting as well for how varied each area is, I love it! Mt Gulg has to have some points for that marble palace of Vauthry’s, it is gorgeous, but also the heroic music as we storm through, ready to fight him to what we assume is the end...if Emet hadn’t come in at the end with a steel chair- I mean :’D

A small few to ramble about, obviously not all the ones I had pictured, but like I said...I like a lot of dungeons :’D I can’t pick just one.

[thedancingpetalxiv]

Can I just ask you to answer them all so I can judge you for your answers >:3 if not... uh... 5, 6, 12

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

HOKAY THIS IS GONNA TAKE A WHILE

CATTE BEST RACE

I don’t think I have a favorite yet cuz I’m still learning em but so far i’m really enjoying NIN!

I don’t necessarily have a least favorite per se, but I’ll just say most casters only because I have no patience for cast times ;w; gomen

My main is on Jenova! but I have alts on Leviathan and Balmung and I’ve got a babby toon on Mateus!

answered!

also answered!

I would say Teledji Adeledji, but it seems he’s not the biggest factor anymore. I also dislike how weird Gegeruju gets...

Answers

The Singularity Reactor was a ton of fun!

I haven’t gotten through them all but The Sirensong Sea was actually super neato!

The Great Gubal Library. I still dunno what to do when it comes to that one book with the sliding floor x.x

I haven’t gotten to the beast tribes yet but for now i’m gonna say moogles cuz...moogles

SHRUGGY I HAVEN’T THOUGHT THAT FAR YET *sweats*

Nashu Mhakaracca. Sweet sleepy bomb catte ;w;

I really like the falcon mount tbh!

I think my rarest mount is probably the nimbus cloud. I’m so glad I did the promo even tho I wasn’t playing yet!

My Dress-Up Y’shtola! That or my Fat Cat ;w;

*does the Will Smith pose at Haurchefant* That or hang out with the rogue’s guild more ;o;

I haven’t gotten to the new Ivalice content but I hope Ramza shows up

I WILL once I hit max level, but once I do I’m most def gonna use the maid outfit for NIN (meido knife catte is best catte). Still thinking of other sets for my other main jobs ;w;

uhhh I’m gonna skip cuz of how the question is asked lmao

Honestly I’d just take some outfits cuz my fashion game IRL is garbage ;;

I’ve never played TT so I can’t say!

*SMASHES THE BUTTON TO HANG OUT WITH Y’SHTOLA CUZ I AM A PLEB*

Shirogane pls. My weeb heart can only take so much ;o;

3 commendations, but I think it was cuz they were all in a triple party and I was the random.

Would be cool to see Zidane in XIV. Or montblanc!, see how he’d be rendered n stuff. As for a fight, would be neat to see some of the bosses from FFTA.

I did not get a chance to play 1.0, but even with apparently how bad it was, I still kinda wish I was around to give it a shot just to see the difference. Also the cutscenes were apparently gorgeous in 1.0 and I would have loved to experience those first hand!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA roleplay *cries grossly*

I wanna see more stuff with the Warriors of Darkness tbh ;-;